Brown Penny, 2/3
by inkling
Summary: An old friend from Gary's past shows up, and it looks like he might finally get the girl--maybe, unless her past gets her first.


**Brown Penny**   
installment 2/3   


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by nonniemous 

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I'm not making any money off this, and I promise not to keep Gary forever. He can go back (if he wants to g>) when Season 3 starts.   


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Many thanks to my erstwhile beta readers, for managing to stay focused enough to actually edit in the midst of all this ooey-gooey stuff! Your contributions were essential to the final en-goo-ment of this piece of fan fic.   


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"I bring you with reverent hands   
The books of my numberless dreams,"   
---William Butler Yeats 

Part 6   


It was a normal, midweek afternoon at McGinty's. Empty of all but one or two customers, the main room of the bar was quiet in the early afternoon sunlight. His lunch half gone, Gary sat with his elbows up on the counter, chin in one hand, staring off into the distance. Crumb was replenishing stock at the other end of the bar. In the kitchen, Chuck and Marissa could be heard arguing - as usual. The paper lay open beside Gary's plate, the article about the construction site accident replaced by an ad for Carson-Scott-Pirie. He'd gotten there in plenty of time to prevent the tragedy, despite the morning's... distractions. 

The paper's to do list momentarily blank, Gary absently took a bite of his sandwich, smiling to himself as his thoughts wandered back over those distractions. Afterward, showered and tucking in his shirt and pocketing his tie, he met Kate as he came out of her bedroom. Once again wrapped in her robe, she handed the paper to him with a crack about this bringing a new dimension to seeing the hubby off to work in the morning. She then gave him a scrambled egg sandwich wrapped in a napkin, some juice in a travel cup, and the keys to her car as they headed towards the front door. Her face lifted towards him as she stopped at the door, but Gary reached out and wrapped his arms around her - paper, sandwich, and all. When his fervent kisses showed no sign of letting up, his lips wandering instead out across her face and down her neck, Kate finally broke away, laughingly pushing him back. 

"Down, boy," she joked, holding him at arm's length as she opened the door. Her eyes were bright as she shoved him out of her apartment. Gary, paper under one arm as he walked backwards down the hall, pointed back at her with the hand that held the juice. 

"I'll be back to finish this later." Their eyes caught and held, and Kate flushed, suddenly shy as she nodded. Gary heard the door to her apartment close after he rounded the corner. He was grateful for the empty elevator as he struggled to regain his composure and focus on the paper's business for the day. There were people out there who needed him. 

_Yeah, but there was someone in Kate's apartment who needed him too..._ Shaking that thought aside for another time, he headed out towards Kate's car, devouring his sandwich as he went. 

Gary grabbed a hard hat as he arrived at the construction site 30 minutes later. He got the workers' attention and managed to call them aside just before the crane's cable broke. There had been a stunned silence after the heavy concrete panels plunged to the ground where they had been standing seconds before. His hasty exit concealed in the ensuing confusion, Gary actually made it back to McGinty's and upstairs to change his clothes without running into anyone but Marissa in the office. He handled a few minor rescues after that, and headed back at McGinty's for a late lunch. Once there, he found Kate had left a message for him with Crumb, saying he could return her car later, if he wanted to stop by tonight. 

*If* he wanted to stop by? After last night, even if nothing happened tonight, how could she say "if?" Crumb stared at him, the question in his eyes unmistakable. Gary flushed involuntarily, and Crumb's expression quickly changed to a slight warning look. Kate and the retired detective had hit it off right away, much like Gary's mom and Crumb had taken to each other. With Kate on her own, the older man seemed to see himself as her adopted dad. So far there hadn't been anything about the idea of Crumb looking out for Kate that had bothered Gary. Now he wasn't so sure. Crumb figured out far too quickly for Gary's comfort just exactly what had gone on between he and Kate last night. 

A call for a refill by one of the two customers in the room saved him from actually answering Crumb's silent enquiry. As the bartender turned away, Gary quickly busied himself with his lunch. Crumb seemed satisfied that the mild evil eye he'd given his boss was warning enough, striking up a conversation with the customer he'd just served and leaving the younger man in peace with his thoughts and memories. 

Folding the paper beside his plate as he swallowed the last bite of his sandwich, Gary's thoughts turned toward possible distractions to come tonight, only half hearing Chuck and Marissa as they burst through the kitchen doors. Chuck was arguing his case vociferously, Marissa resolutely repeating "No," whenever he paused for breath. Calling Gary's name imploringly, Chuck headed towards where he sat at the bar, closely followed by Marissa. Swallowing some of his beer, Gary carefully placed it on the bar in front of him, ignoring the conversation taking place around him. 

Even without Crumb's encouragement he knew he and Kate should set a wedding date shortly; it wouldn't do to have Kate getting pregnant before they tied the knot. And he needed to call his folks and tell them, and Kate needed to find out when her dad's carrier would be in port so they could schedule the wedding around his leave time and -- 

"So, Gar? Be a man, and say 'yes' for once, okay?" Chuck's voice cut across Gary's reverie, and he looked up to find his partner standing there, feet set, arms crossed, doing his best imitation of the Rock of Gibraltar. Marissa just sighed, shaking her head as she felt for a bar stool with one hand, the other holding a thick braille book. Gary pulled one next to him out for her as he tried to sort out what the two had been arguing about. Whatever it was, it was probably no big deal. Chuck had actually done all right managing the bar, with Marissa there to balance out his wilder ideas. 

"Sure, why not?" Gary shrugged. He had better things to do than referee for these two today. Gary missed the incredulous looks that broke across both his friends' faces as he returned to trying to figure out what kind of wedding he wanted. He and Kate had agreed last night that one big wedding was enough. They'd both been that route with their first marriages. At this point, smaller was better. 

Chuck was still talking, and Gary nodded vaguely as he took another swig from the bottle in front of him. A ring. He needed to get Kate a ring. Shoot, he really should make some notes before he called his folks. His mom would want details, not just generic plans and -- 

"Gary!" Marissa's shock finally got his attention. He tuned in to find her facing him, eyes wide and a look of... disgust? on her face. 

"Huh? What? What'd I do?" 

Marissa shook her head, her mouth open in amazement. 

"It's not what you did, it's what you just told Chuck he could do." 

Confused, Gary stared back and forth between the two of them, Marissa still gaping at him in incredulous disgust, and Chuck standing just behind her. The shorter man looked like a kid who'd just been handed the keys to the candy store and was half expecting them to be yanked away. 

"You all right, buddy?" 

"Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm fine. What are you gonna do?" 

"Didn't you hear me?" Chuck was suddenly all wide-eyed, blue-eyed innocence and Gary's stomach sank. What had he gotten himself into? 

"Well, sort of...." His voice trailed off as Chuck raised one eyebrow. "Well, okay, I wasn't really paying attention. What did you say?" He could see the wheels turning in Chuck's mind, and he quickly took refuge in bluster. "What are you trying to pull over on me now?" 

Marissa smiled, her "I can't wait to hear this" smile. Gary's worry grew. What exactly had he just agreed to? 

"Chuck?" 

"Why don't you just let me set it all up and then you'll see. It'll be a surprise, a big one." Chuck grinned, a certain twinkle in his eye that Gary knew all too well. Oh, boy. He was in trouble - big trouble. Crumb appeared, setting a cup of coffee down by Marissa's hand with a "here you go, young lady." She smiled her thanks, and he returned to his conversation at the other end of the bar. 

"No, why don't you just tell me right now, buddy. You're not doing anything until you tell me what's going on." His voice cracked as he stared at his friend. 

"Go ahead, Chuck." Marissa's voice cut smoothly across his worry. "Tell us how many former Playmates you plan on contacting for McGinty's lingerie night." 

Gary's jaw dropped. 

"L-l-l-linger, lingerie, lingerie - I never, I never agreed to a lingerie night!" 

Chuck's smile would have put a crocodile to shame. 

"Sure you did, buddy! I heard you and so did Marissa and so did Crumb over there." Crumb snorted from where he stood at the other end of the bar. Marissa turned to Gary, her expression plain. She wanted to know just how Gary was going to rescue them all from Chuck this time. Still standing behind Marissa, Chuck bounced on his toes, his glee at Gary's predicament obvious. 

"Well, if I would have heard what you said, I would never have said yes. This is, this is, we are, we're a sports bar, not, not, we're not a Hooters!" 

Chuck's face lit up like a kid's at Christmas, and Marissa shook her head before burying her face in her hand. Gary could have kicked himself. Why in the world had he given Chuck an idea like that? He didn't give Chuck an opportunity to say anything further on the subject 

"No, we're not doing that, and we're not doing any sort of lingerie night. Period. This is a sports bar, and we don't need that kind of, that kind of, well, that kind of stuff." 

"Oh, come on, Gary, everyone else is doing it! Ask Marissa about the revenues on some of the non-game nights! We could really bring in the business if we'd do this." Chuck gestured angrily in Marissa's direction, obviously feeling his advantage slipping away. 

"Chuck, the revenue on the game nights more than makes up for the slow nights." Marissa was unyielding. "We have no need to stoop to something as low as a lingerie night." 

Chuck turned to Gary, prepared to wheedle some more. Gary shook his head, firmly in agreement with Marissa - again. 

"No. And, and, that's final!" Gary pointed at Chuck, who gave him a disgusted look. The phone rang behind them, and Crumb answered it. He called down the bar to Chuck that it was for him. 

"Well, then why'd you say yes to begin with?" Chuck grumbled at Gary before leaning across the bar behind Marissa to answer the phone. Marissa opened her book. 

Gary ignored them both, taking refuge in the paper. Nothing had cropped up so far that hadn't been there this morning. . The boney model in the ad that replaced his construction site story on page eight caught his eye. She had nothing near Kate's figure, but the dress she was wearing had enough resemblance to the one Kate had on last night that Gary chuckled in spite of himself. When that dress slid off... 

A minute or two later, Gary realized he was still staring at the same page, with the same silly grin on his face. Phone call finished, Chuck was leaning on the bar on the other side of Marissa, who was now engrossed in her braille book. Chuck's eyebrows half raised, Gary didn't like the gleam he saw creeping into his friend's eyes. He quickly turned the page and blindly searched for something to look at. 

Chuck came around Marissa to lean on the bar beside Gary. He flicked the paper with one finger as Gary tried to ignore him. 

"My, we're in a good mood today. Positively _glowing_. What's happened to lighten your load, buddy?" The last word was loaded with inference as only Chuck could say it. Marissa's head came up as Chuck spoke, her finger pausing in its tracing across the heavy manilla page. 

Gary shot him a glare over the paper, feeling the heat rise in his face. 

"Nothing. Just got a light day today, that's all. Besides, there's no law against being in a good mood, is there?" He folded the paper and grabbed his beer. 

"So, how was last night?" Marissa asked, propping her chin on one hand. Gary choked on his beer, and Chuck pounded him helpfully on the back as he tried to catch his breath. 

"L-l-l-last, last night?" Chuck's grin widened as Gary stammered, wiping the overflow from his spasm of coughing off his chin with the back of one hand. Marissa's intuition was, well, uncanny, but she couldn't know about last night - could she? He stared at Marissa briefly before deciding she was just asking an innocent question. It was his guilty conscience that had him feeling like everyone could see right through him. Speaking of everyone... 

"Yeah, you know, Gary, your date, Kate, the _play_?" Chuck's glee was increasing in time with the color in Gary's face. Marissa's brow wrinkled as she tried to catch the undercurrents flowing around her. 

"The play, the play, the play was fine, just fine, that's what it was." Leveling another glare at Chuck, Gary grabbed a napkin from a pile behind the bar and wiped his hand and his face again. 

Chuck nodded sagely at Gary's reply. 

"Oh, and did Kate enjoy the _play_?" Marissa right there and Crumb at the other end of the bar were the only things that kept Gary from wiping that smirk off Chuck's face. As it was, he settled for an icy stare that only fed Chuck's mirth. Okay, fine, if that was the way Chuck wanted to be. 

"Yeah. She did. As a matter of fact, she enjoyed it a lot." 

"Oooohhhhh." Chuck's eyebrows rose, and his grin widened. "Maybe the two of you should take in a play more often." 

It was Marissa's turn to choke on her coffee. Both men turned to her as she coughed, and Chuck quickly handed her a napkin from the same pile Gary had just made use of. Neither one of them missed the sudden look of comprehension on her face. The napkin she held to her mouth didn't hide her smile. Gary mentally took back every thing he'd ever given Chuck, and fervently wished his friend at the bottom of Lake Michigan - just long enough to wipe that god-awful smart-assed sneer off Chuck's face. 

Marissa finally broke the awkward silence that fell as an ecstatic Chuck refused to be stared down by Gary. 

"Gary, are you going to tell Kate about the paper?" She spoke softly, mindful of the men standing at the other end of the bar. 

Grateful for the change of subject, Gary dropped his gaze to her. 

"I already did. Last night." 

"Was that before or after the _play_?" Chuck took a step backward as he spoke, but the leering grin stayed the same. 

Gary decided he knew how to change the subject, and get that stinking insinuating tone out of Chuck's voice. 

"Yeah, it was after the play. Right before I asked her to marry me." Gary thoroughly enjoyed the stunned look that replaced the smirk on Chuck's face. Marissa reached out for his arm. 

"You did what?" 

"I asked her to marry me." 

Chuck stepped up next to Gary, his eyes serious. 

"For real, Gar? You really asked her--" 

"Gary? Are you sure?" Marissa cut Chuck off, and for once Chuck didn't object. They both stared at him. Giving up on pretending what had happened between he and Kate last night hadn't, Gary spoke up in his own defense. 

"Well, yeah, I did, and yes I am. You don't think I'd just, I'd just -- she's not that kind of girl. And I'm not that kind of guy." He shoved away the irritation he felt at his friends' reaction to his news. Did they think he just did this without thinking it through? That he just let his, well. desires get the best of him? Pushing away the niggling thought that was at least part of what happened last night, Gary looked at Marissa as she finally spoke again. 

"What did she say?" 

"Well, she said yes." 

"About the paper." Gary glared at Chuck, then realized Marissa was leaning forward, just as anxiously waiting for his answer as Chuck was. He swallowed, feeling the flush creeping up his cheeks again. Gee whiz, did he have to tell them what Kate had said? Studying their intent faces, he realized he did. They had helped him carry the burden for these last two years, they deserved to know, at least a little bit. 

He swallowed, not sure he could get all this out with a straight face. 

"She, she, she said it fit me. That, that it made more sense to her than me being a stock broker or running a bar." There. He wouldn't tell them the rest, not if his life depended on it. Well, maybe, but it didn't, and he wasn't going to embarrass himself any further if he didn't have to. 

Marissa's eyebrows went up, as did Chuck's. Chuck blew out a heavy sigh, crossing his arms and studying Gary silently. Marissa propped her chin in one hand again, and seemed lost in thought. Gary was really irritated now. 

"Well, don't you have anything else to say?" The conversation at the other end of the bar stalled as his overly loud voice carried to them. Gary winced. He really didn't want the extra attention. 

"Like what?" Chuck's eyes were wide in shock this time. He was careful to speak in a whisper though, as he spoke his mind. "You didn't want to know what we had to say before you did this, before you decided to just go telling any and everyone about the paper." 

Gary glared at him. 

"Well, for one Kate's not just anyone, she's gonna be my wife. For two, what does it have to do with you anyway? It's my life! Not yours! You wouldn't bother to ask me about something like this - not that you'd ever find a girl fool enough to marry you in the first place, not once she got to know you." 

Mouth agape, Chuck stared at Gary, his indignant response aborted by Marissa's calm voice. 

"Gary, it's just, well, the paper, it's a big responsibility. Almost like being married to a cop, or a doctor. Worse maybe. Not everyone can be a cop's wife, or a doctor's. It takes a special kind of person." Her voice dropped even lower. "It's just, it's just... we just don't want to see you get hurt again." 

Gary stared at them both, only partially able to swallow his anger. The cat jumped up on the bar in front of him, and he took some of his ire out on it, grabbing it and dumping it on the floor, before meeting Chuck's concerned gaze again. 

"W-w-w-well, the paper doesn't come to you, it comes to me, and it's my responsibility, and if Kate tells me she can handle it, I believe her. And you know, it might be nice for you to at least congratulate me before you start criticizing her and me. It's our decision, and it, it, it's *my* paper." He stood as he finished speaking, and without giving them a chance to answer grabbed the paper and headed for the front door. He nodded grimly to Crumb on his way out. There were people out there who needed him, people he needed to take care of, even if his friends here thought he couldn't take care of himself or the paper without them. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

"Danger no refuge holds, and war no peace,   
For him who hears love sing and never cease..." 

---William Butler Yeats   


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Gary shifted the flowers he held in one hand to dig Kate's keys out of his pocket. The elevator seemed to be taking forever to get to Kate's floor, and he resisted the urge to take the rolled-up paper from the back pocket of his jeans and check it again. There had been a few too many incidents crop up at the last minute today, from a little leaguer hit by a pop fly to a bicyclist injured in a hit and run accident. Checking his watch impatiently as the elevators finally opened on the sixth floor, Gary was stunned. 10:13? And he'd told Kate he thought he'd be at her place by 8:30. 

Maybe he shouldn't have stopped for the flowers. But this was the fourth time this week he'd been delayed by the paper. Maybe he should have let the Alzheimer's patient be found by the care givers who were looking for her. It would only have been another hour until she was found anyway, but it had been on his way, and Gary had appreciated the family's gratitude for their grandmother's return. It was a nice change from the suspicion and irritation he usually received for his efforts. 

Waiting for Kate to answer his knock, he eyed her door critically. There had been a domestic dispute listed in the paper today as well. Gary had called the police from the pay phone down the street, then gone to the house to see what he could do in case the police didn't arrive in time. Normally he wouldn't have taken the chance, not gotten that involved, not after Nikki and her boys - he'd never been sure if he'd helped or exacerbated that family's problems. But after Kate's story last week, the idea of not doing anything in a case like that had left him slightly nauseous. What if someone could have helped Kate, and didn't? 

Of course, that didn't mean he'd really been able to help the woman today. She and her children, four-year-old twins, one of whom bit Gary when he was trying to get them out of her apartment, didn't want to leave with him at first. They'd been willing enough to go, though, a few minutes later when the boyfriend showed up. Quickly ushering the family out the back door of the house, he had them over to a neighbor's before the enraged man was finished kicking in the front door. He noted with relief that Kate's door seemed much more solid than that one. Even if by some small chance Trevor ever did show up, it would take a mountain to move this door if it was locked. 

The peephole darkened briefly, and then Kate opened the door, holding the cordless phone to her ear with one shoulder. She smiled brightly at Gary as he held out the flowers, waving him in. Dressed in a dark brown sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, her hair was caught up with a single long pin into a bundle on top of her head. 

"No, that might work out. I'll have to ask him though." Still listening to her phone call, she pointed at the keys he held in his hand, wrinkling her brow in an unspoken question. Gary shrugged, sheepishly. Truth was, he felt like it wasn't quite his right yet to be using keys to open her door. That wouldn't really be until they were married. She accepted his kiss on one cheek, and, continuing her conversation over the phone, led the way into the kitchen. After a brief search of a couple of cabinets she handed him a large Mason jar with an apologetic shrug. Gary took care of the flowers as Kate picked up a pencil and sat on a bar stool watching him. Whoever she was talking to was still going strong, and she began making notes on the pad in front of her. Finally, the voice in the phone paused. 

"I'll talk to him about it and let you know tomorrow, okay?...No, he just came in. Brought me flowers." Gary blushed as he set the flowers on the bar in the spot Kate indicated with her pencil. The voice mumbled again, and Kate responded, "Hang on a sec, Bertie." Catching Gary's eye as she lowered the phone, she said, "It's my sister, Bertie. She says congratulations, and she only wants two things: number one, your dental records, and number two, she wants to know what in the world you're doing here so late at night." 

The squawk that came from the earpiece of the phone matched Gary's silent consternation, and Kate laughed out loud. Putting the phone back up to her mouth, she said her good-byes, her eyes twinkling as Gary blushed again. Finally, Kate switched off the phone and gave in to her laughter. Shaking his head, Gary walked over took her in his arms. 

"Aren't you the rabble rouser tonight?" Arms around her waist, he leaned back against the bar, pulling Kate against him, her arms going around his neck in return. 

"Sorry." She confessed, but the twinkle in her eyes as she returned his kiss belied her contrition. A minute or two later, she pushed him away. "If you could have seen the look on your face though... It was worth not being able to hear out of my ear for the next week." Still giggling, she reached around him for the notepad. Gary blocked her arm with his shoulder, an answering twinkle in his eyes. 

"Nope, you still owe me for that one." She didn't seem to mind greatly when his kiss stifled her objection, to judge by the ardor with which her lips answered his. Gary's hand stole up underneath her sweatshirt to caress the soft skin of her back, Kate's hands playing with his hair. As much as she seemed to be enjoying his attention though, she seemed distracted. After a couple of minutes, she pulled back, her hands dropping to his shoulders where she absently traced the pattern in his plaid shirt. Her eyes somber, it was another minute before she would look at him. Gary waited, patiently, unsure what was on her mind. Then with a deep breath, she looked at him. 

"Someone had a video camera at that hit and run today." 

Everything in the room froze for the moment while Gary stared at her, suddenly noticing just how red and puffy her eyes were. Kate saw that? *Shit!* Gary looked away from her aquamarine eyes, the same color as the ring he'd found for her yesterday, the one sparkling on her hand as she played with his shirt. He studied the pictures on the wall behind Kate for a moment. Kate at her brother's graduation from the Naval Academy, in her sister's wedding. Her niece and nephews. Her sister and her husband, with the kids. Her Dad and her brother and her grandfather, all in uniform. Her parents' wedding photo. Damn! It used to be that he only had to worry about alarming Chuck and Marissa with some of the rescues the paper required of him. That was one thing he hadn't really thought through with bringing Kate into his life. What right did he have to ask her to-- 

"Gary." He looked back at her, not sure what to say, how to tell her it was all right if she wanted out, if she didn't want to live with what his life had become. He'd be miserable if she left now, but he could hardly ask her to stay if... 

"I was so upset when I saw how close you came to being hit by that truck, I almost couldn't see straight. I wanted to yell at you , I was so angry. How could you put yourself at risk like that, when you knew I was here, waiting for you? Don't you know what it would do to me to lose you now, after I've found so much happiness with you?" She paused, tears welling up in her eyes once more. 

Miserably, Gary opened his mouth, the words that would release her from his promise reluctant to squeeze past the lump in his throat, inwardly steeling himself for what he knew was coming. But Kate shook her head at him. She wasn't done yet. 

"Then, Bertie happened to call. She'd talked to Mom, and they wanted to talk to me about the wedding. She could tell I was upset, but I didn't know how to tell her what was bothering me without giving the paper away." Gary nodded. He understood that dilemma, all too well. Kate smiled ruefully as she met his sympathetic glance, then her eyes flicked away for a moment before coming back to his as she continued. 

"She finally got enough out of me to understand that I was upset about you putting your life on the line for someone else." Now her smile was thin. "I think she thinks you're an undercover agent or something." 

Gary's eyebrows shot up. That was a new one. Kate went on. 

"You know, she goes through that every time Matt gets sent out on a mission. He's a SEAL, and the stuff they do is really top secret. He can't even tell her where he's going to be or when he'll get back. And, Mom went through that with Dad, every time his frigate went out. Especially when he was in the Gulf War." Kate smile was rueful now. "You know what? Bertie was right when she said you wouldn't be the man I loved if I didn't let you do what you had to do." 

Gary couldn't think of anything to say. Kate didn't seem to mind. Her arms went up around his neck again, and she rested her forehead against his briefly, before looking deeply into his eyes. 

"You do what you have to do with that paper, Gary Hobson. But, you darn well better be as careful as you can be, because I do not want to lose the privilege of waking up next to you for the rest of my life." 

It was later, much later that Gary headed into the kitchen for a late night snack. Kate followed him, suddenly gasping as the notepad on the counter caught her eye. 

"Oh, I promised Bertie I'd call her tomorrow about this." 

Gary looked up from where he was staring into the refrigerator. 

"About what?" He reached for the leftover lasagna he could see hiding just behind the tub of cottage cheese. He still didn't see how Kate could eat that stuff every morning for breakfast. She didn't answer as he pulled the dish out of the refrigerator and stepped over to the microwave, pausing a moment after he put the lasagna in to stare at the buttons. It was a newer model than his, and he hadn't quite figured it out yet. Kate's arm reached around him, pressing one button with a finger and the light quickly went on. That taken care of, Gary turned to her. Notepad in one hand, she was looking at him apologetically. 

"Well, it seems that there's no way they can all come in November. I mean, Mom and Bertie could, and maybe Alex, but Dad and Matt couldn't." Gary waited for her to finish. Kate looked at the notepad in her hand again. 

"But, Dad and Matt and Alex all have leave next month, in 4 weeks. Then they could all be here, and Bertie and Mom were wondering if we'd be willing to move the wedding up and have it then. If that's all right with you..." Her voice faltered, the hand holding the notepad dropping to her side as she stared back at him. 

"They, they want, they want us to move the wedding *up?*" 

Kate nodded. 

"Well, hey, now, I think we could do that." 

The lasagna was cold long before Gary even remembered it was there.   


* * *

  


"I do not know, that know I am afriad   
of the hovering thing night brought me." 

-- William Butler Yeats   


Part 7   


"Kate?" Gary stared, his brow wrinkled in confusion as a bedraggled Kate made her way across McGinty's crowded front room towards him. Outside, the preternaturally dark afternoon sky lit up once more, the resulting boom of thunder claiming the attention of every person in the room. The announcer's voice calling the game was the only sound in the brief pause before the hum of conversation rose again, the clinking of glasses and *clack* of pool balls against one another accompanying it. Gary spared the storm outside a glance, grateful for the relatively mild day offered to him by the paper. Last time it had rained like this, he'd wound up with a knock on the head and an adventure via the paper he still wasn't sure he believed. If not for Jesse Mayfield's watch... Returning to the present, Gary's frown matched Crumb's as Kate came to a stop in front of him. 

Hands in her coat pocket, eyes wide, she barely nodded to Crumb before turning to Gary. Her wet hair hung in great dark ropes from beneath her beret. Disturbed at her pale face and swollen eyes, Gary didn't give her a chance to say anything. He handed his clipboard to Crumb, the bartender taking it belatedly. Taking her arm, Gary knew Crumb too had noticed just how wet Kate was. His concern grew as he guided Kate toward the office. It hadn't been raining that hard, had it? She was awfully wet for just walking in from her car. He steered her through the door and on into the office. Marissa's head came up as they entered, her hand half pulling the headphones from her ears as she paused the computer playback with the other. 

"Gary?" 

Kate caught Gary's eye long enough to shake her head pleadingly. 

"It's just me, Marissa. We're, uh, I'm just passing through." 

Marissa frowned, then nodded her head once and, slipping the headphones back into place, returned to her accounts. Gary shook his head as he and Kate made their way up the stairs. This living in a fishbowl was getting to be a bit much where Kate was concerned. Everyone knew her comings and goings - and lack thereof at times. The nights they had spent together in the last weeks since their engagement had been mostly at her apartment, for the privacy. The cat and the paper hadn't seemed to mind, and Gary was seriously considering just moving in over there once the wedding was over. 

Kate hadn't said a word as he opened the door to his apartment and ushered her through in front of him, and she remained silent as Gary helped her off with her long coat. She shivered as he took the hat from her, at the same time he realized she was drenched all the way through. 

"Kate? Did you walk in this downpour?" 

Her lips blue with cold, Kate nodded apologetically. Her shivering was now more like shuddering, and Gary made a quick decision. Whatever had possessed her to walk in the downpour, she needed to get warm and quickly. He pulled her into the bathroom, turning the shower on and adjusting the temperature before turning to her. 

"Get in there and get warm. I'll get you something to change into." 

It only took a moment to find her a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt, and then Gary took the wet things she left on the floor of the bathroom along with her coat and hat and headed downstairs for the dryer. He noticed the envelope in the inside pocket of her jacket just as he was stuffing it inside the dryer. It was a registered letter, the heavy envelope showing signs of the soaking that the rest of Kate's attire had received. The address caught his attention as he carefully pulled it out, and his stomach dropped. So that was what had upset her. Swearing to himself, he stuffed the coat into the dryer. Resisting the urge to see for himself what the letter contained, he headed for the bar on his way back up to his loft. 

"Hey, Crumb." The older man looked up as Gary paused at the end of the bar. 

"You wanna give me that pot of coffee - the decaf?" Kate was always complaining that too much caffeine kept her up at night. 

Crumb complied, setting the pot on the bar in front of Gary, then leaned on the counter with both hands as he stared at Gary. His expression serious, the bartender didn't have to ask. 

Gary hesitated, then shook his head. With a sideways glance at the too-curious waitress nearby, he spoke quietly as in answer to Crumb's unspoken question. 

"She walked from her apartment. I stuck her in the shower to warm her up. " 

Crumb snorted, then gave him a look, and Gary felt the heat rising up his cheeks. What did the guy think, that Gary couldn't control himself around Kate, that he couldn't see she was obviously upset and needed more than a horny boyfriend right now? The bartender had received the news of his and Kate's engagement with a great deal more enthusiasm than Chuck or Marissa. But Gary's rather too obvious habit lately of spending the night at Kate's had led to Crumb dropping comments about making a phone call - Kate's dad or Gary's mom, the man said he hadn't decided for sure yet. The moved up wedding date had pleased him, and he'd said he might not have to make that call after all. However, Gary wasn't totally convinced Crumb still wouldn't do it. 

Totally flustered now, Gary grabbed the coffee pot; the rag materializing almost instantly in Crumb's hand to wipe up the coffee that sloshed over the rim onto the bar. He turned to go, Crumb's voice stopping him halfway. 

"Just let me know if you need anything, okay?" 

Stunned, Gary turned back to Crumb, his eyes wide as they searched the detective's for a moment. Had Kate told him about Trevor? After a minute Gary realized she probably hadn't said anything, it was just Crumb being the protective father-figure he had appointed himself in Kate's life. The man was fairly observant; he'd been a detective after all. Gary nodded, then headed for the loft, hands full with the letter and coffee pot. 

Twenty minutes later Kate was curled up in her borrowed sweats on the couch next to him. Much drier and warmer now, she sipped her black coffee as Gary struggled to understand the reason for the letter he held in his hand. Giving up for the moment, he threw it down on the coffee table, sitting back and running his fingers through his short hair before gesturing angrily at the still damp missive. 

"I still don't see why he can't just mail you the papers to sign." 

With a resigned sigh, Kate shook her head. 

"I don't know, Gary." She shrugged, taking another drink from her coffee cup. "Trevor's a control freak. It's not gonna be thrilling to him that his dad left me half this property. He's been drooling over developing it ever since I've known him. That he might have to share the dividends with me, that's got to be galling. This is probably his way of trying to get back at me for having the audacity to be in his father's will." 

Gary studied the paper in front him in silence. He didn't know how to tell Kate that's what worried him, that Trevor might be angry, that he might want to get back at her, unleash his anger on the woman next to him. Kate would never be mistaken for frail, but still, when Gary thought about the few details she'd given him since her startling revelation last month on the bridge... Damn, why did the man have to show up again? Kate shouldn't have to deal with him at all, not anymore. He suddenly realized Kate was talking. 

"...never thought it would bother me so much. I mean, I thought I was over the guy, over the..." Still curled defensively on the couch, Kate rubbed her fingers across the smooth ceramic cup as she stared at it. Her voice trailed away, and she looked up and away, out the window. Gary shifted closer to her, his arm going around her shoulders. Tears were welling up in her eyes again, and she shook them away angrily. "But when I saw that letter, saw his handwriting, his name, it was like I'd never left, like he was right there, waiting to come in the door... I, I panicked. All I could think about was I didn't want to be alone with him, not again, not after--" 

Her words choked on the sobs Gary could feel shaking the body next to him. He set her coffee on the table and gathered her into his arms, holding her until the sobs went away, fighting his own growing anger at the man who did this to the woman he loved, who had tormented her and beaten her and made her so afraid. She wasn't supposed to be afraid like this, she was supposed to be tall and confident and pretty, like that first night she'd come into McGinty's, and back into his life. She was loving, passionate, courageous...and terrified right now of her ex-husband. He was still untangling his thoughts and feelings when Kate pushed away from him, grabbing for a tissue from the box on the end table. 

"I don't know which aggravates me more: That he chooses now to show up, or that he still has this much of a hold on me. I mean, I thought I was over being afraid of him, that I didn't have to live under his shadow anymore." Blowing her nose, she leaned stiffly away from him. "I'm sorry, Gary, I know you didn't want to--" 

"Don't say that. You don't have anything to be sorry for. The only one that's gonna be sorry is Trevor if I--" 

"Gary!" Kate sat up straight now, turning toward him. "You can't! I don't want you to get in trouble for anything. I don't want anyone to know..." 

"Why? Because you don't want him to look bad, or you don't want them to think you were stupid to stay with him for as long as you did?" 

Kate flinched, and Gary swore at himself. Dammit, Hobson, don't take your anger out on her! You're no better than Trevor if you do that. Blows don't have to be physical. Pushing away the voice that whispered there was a big difference between hitting a woman and just being angry at her, Gary reached for Kate, stroking her arms lightly from shoulder to elbow. 

"I, I, I'm sorry, honey. I, I, I -- when I think about you blaming yourself for what he chose to do..." He held her now, until she looked at him. "It wasn't your fault. He's the one who chose to, to, to..." Dammit Hobson, say it! If you can't, how do you expect her to believe you? "To hit you. You didn't do anything to deserve that, and you weren't stupid to stay with him." From somewhere the words came to him, and he knew they were right, even as he spoke them. "You understood love in a way he never will. You loved him enough to put up with that for a while in the hopes he'd change. But, you also loved yourself enough to leave when he didn't change." 

Kate looked away, chewing on one lip. Gary waited while she thought that through, his relief undeniable when she turned back to him finally with a slight smile - she wasn't conceding his point, but she wasn't arguing against it either. 

"Okay, lover boy, then what are we gonna do about this?" She pushed at the letter before them with one toe. 

Gary's smile was large in return. 

"Well, for starters, there's no way you're going to meet him anywhere alone. And for two, you're staying here with me for the next few days, until we're sure he's come and gone." 

If he just didn't have to face Crumb... 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

"Gary, I'm a big girl! I can handle this. It's not like we're going to be somewhere alone or anything. We'll be right downstairs, where the world can see. Just because you won't be sitting at the table with us doesn't mean I won't be safe. Trevor's not a complete animal, you know." 

Hands on her hips, Kate tossed her head defiantly where she stood beside his pin ball machine - now covered with stacks of her students' papers to be graded. Her eyes practically snapped at him across the room, their color intensified by the soft shimmering blue of her dress. His own hands on his hips, Gary glared right back at her, their argument no closer to resolution now than it was the first time they'd had it two days ago. Kate had agreed easily enough when Gary suggested Trevor meet her here at McGinty's. That had been the last thing they'd agreed on, at least where Trevor's visit was concerned. Now time was running out. 

"Not from what you've told me about him. Sure sounded like he was an animal to me. You trying to tell me life with him wasn't as bad as you've said?" He regretted the words as quickly as he yelled them. Kate's face fell, and she stared at him incredulously for a moment. Gary shook his head. Dammit, Hobson! 

"Kate... " Stepping towards her, Gary extended one hand apologetically, but she turned her back on him, reaching out to grasp the pinball machine with both hands, arms stiff and shoulders hunched. Running one hand through his hair, Gary swung around to stare out the window, trying to think of some way to salvage this situation. Dammit, he just didn't like the idea of Kate being alone with this guy - trouble was, their definitions of alone were somewhat irreconcilable at this point. She seemed to think he was being overprotective; he didn't seem to be able to get through to her that he wasn't trying to treat her like she was helpless, he was just worried about the man. His original unease about Trevor suddenly reappearing had only grown in the last few days. 

"Hon, I'm sor--" Gary walked across the room and put one hand on her shoulder, the other reaching to stroke her unbound hair. Kate shrugged his hands off, then swirled around to face him, eyes shining now with unshed tears. 

"I am not a baby, and I didn't lie about anything, and I don't need you right there to hold my hand. For god's sake Gary, it's just some stupid paperwork. All I have to do is sign it, and we'll be done; he'll be gone, out of our lives forever." Kate crossed her arms and stood up straight, her jaw firm. "And, if you don't back off, Trevor and I can always go somewhere else to talk. After he gets here." 

Gary's own jaw dropped. He gestured with one hand, helplessly, knowing Kate was winning and not knowing how he could stop it. 

"You, you, you wouldn't." But he knew she would. Damn, the woman still didn't seem to be able to think straight where her ex-husband was concerned. And all this just because Gary wanted to be with her when she talked to Trevor. Kate leaned toward him now, taking his hand in hers. 

"Gary, I have to do this by myself. I hate myself for being so afraid of him, and he'll always have this power over me if I can't face him, can't overcome it on my own." Her voice was low, intense, but she didn't have to convince Gary how much this meant to her. He was the one who seemed unable to articulate his own fears about the situation. Kate hesitated, then went on. "I know why you want to be there, I understand, believe me, I do, but can't you see that you're just making it harder on me? Please, let me do this, for me, and for us. I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder afraid Trevor Howard is going to jump out and go 'Boo!' I want to be free to enjoy the rest of my life with you. I have to face him by myself, overcome my fear on my own. You can't save me from this, Gary Hobson. I have to save myself this time." 

Her smile was tender, apologetic as she brushed his hair back with her free hand, but Gary could still feel the steel beneath her touch. She wasn't giving in, not at all. He had never felt quite so frustrated and helpless in his life. Well, maybe he had once or twice before, but dammit... The cat meowed at his feet and Gary stared at it a moment, before meeting Kate's gaze again. Trouble was, he couldn't tell if the darn animal was confirming his own gut feelings about the man, or telling him to let Kate have her way. The knock on the door decided the issue for them. 

"Yeah?" Gary called, his eyes never leaving Kate's. 

The door opened, and Chuck stepped in. He stopped with one hand on the doorknob, his smile fading as he glanced questioningly back and forth between the two of them for a moment before he spoke. 

"Um, there's some guy downstairs asking for Kate." 

Kate dropped Gary's hand. 

"I'll be right there." Brushing a kiss across Gary's cheek, she headed for the bathroom. Gary stood where she'd left him, still trying to figure out how and where he had so completely lost control of this situation. The cat meowed again, rubbing around his ankles. 

"Gar?" Chuck's voice cut across his reverie. Startled, Gary glanced up at his friend, still standing in the door, now frowning concernedly at him. "Is everything all right?" 

No. No it wasn't, but Gary didn't know exactly why he thought that. It wasn't like he had the paper right there, telling him something was wrong. This one was all his, and only his it appeared. Maybe Kate was right, maybe he was being overprotective of her. Dammit, though, it was about time someone was. Realizing Chuck was still waiting for his answer, Gary shrugged slightly, bending down to pick up the cat. How could he explain this without making one more person he cared about more upset than they already were with him? 

He hadn't exactly been on the best of terms with Chuck and Marissa in the last two weeks, not since their less than enthusiastic response to his and Kate's engagement. With Kate taking up residence in the loft the last few days, Gary was beginning to wonder if things would ever be back to normal between him and his friends. Topping it all off, Crumb had started giving him "the look" when Kate moved in. Every time Gary saw the man on the phone he got nervous. Trouble was, Kate didn't want him telling anyone about Trevor. Gary still couldn't believe she'd never confessed the real reason she left Trevor to her own family. Her pleading left him unable to explain the reason for her presence to his friends, and Gary was forced to let them think what they wanted to about the situation. It was obviously the worst. 

"Yeah." He nodded at Chuck briefly. "It's Kate's ex. He has some paperwork he needs her to sign, some property or something that got left to them both in a will." 

Chuck made a small "oh" with his mouth, nodding sagely. 

"Okay, well, I'll tell him that you, uh, she'll be right down." 

Chuck hesitated, his concern obviously not completely assuaged, but it wasn't like Gary didn't already have a reputation as the jealous type. He hoped Chuck would just chalk whatever he thought he'd seen up to that. 

Stroking the cat absently, he nodded at Chuck again, then settled on the couch with a sigh to wait for Kate.   


* * *

  


"I had thought that all my days were cast   
Amid most lovely places..." 

---William Butler Yeats   
  
Part 8   


Damn, the man was big. Gary found Trevor easily enough as he held the office door open for Kate, though he'd never actually been introduced to him. Seems like they might have had a class together, or been at the same party a time or two, but the crowds they'd run with in college had never really crossed paths. Now the only thing they had in common was the woman standing beside Gary. What position had she said he played? Linebacker? 

Untouched drink in front of Trevor where he stood at the bar, Kate's ex-husband must have stood at least six inches over six feet in his stocking feet. An expensive suitcoat emphasized the breadth of his shoulders, and he managed to look both dashing and well-dressed at the same time. Chino slacks and a matching dark blue shirt brought out the blue in his eyes, and his short auburn hair framed a face Michelangelo would have begged to sculpt. Even a guy could tell this guy was handsome. Gary swallowed. No wonder Kate had fallen for him. 

Grabbing his hand, Kate headed out into the bar, and as he followed her Gary decided he wasn't being entirely fair. He'd gone for Marcia in part because of her looks too, when if he'd really been thinking straight he'd have latched on to Kate in the first place. Saved them both a lot of grief if he had... he quickly pushed that fruitless conjecture away. Save that for some night when he couldn't sleep and needed something to worry about. He had enough to worry him right here. Trevor was waiting for them now, reclining easily against the bar on one elbow as Kate and Gary made their way to him. They passed Chuck talking in low tones to Crumb and Marissa. Gary grimaced as he caught Crumb's appraising glance. Now everyone would think he was having a jealous fit over Kate's ex. Oh well, he didn't really care right now what they thought. He just knew he wasn't going to let anything happen to Kate, not while he was around to prevent it. He hadn't missed the fact that she moved a bit closer to him when she first saw her ex-husband, though she stepped away and stood tall as they stopped next to him. 

_Good girl._ Much as he didn't want to let her do this alone, there was no reason for her to give the bastard any satisfaction. Kate was making the introductions, and Trevor held out his hand. Gary looked at it, and then back up at the man in front of him. He didn't miss the flashing anger in those blue eyes at his rudeness, but he also didn't miss Kate's squeezing his hand, and when he glanced at her, her amusement at his response was unmistakable. Good. She wasn't going to push him to be nice to the creep. Not that Gary would have given in on that score. He'd been accused of being rude before, and he'd lived. 

"So, you two set a date yet?" Trevor's cool amusement met Gary's hostility head on, but Gary wasn't about to let the guy get his goat. 

"I don't see that it's any of your business." 

Kate cut in. 

"You had something for me to sign?" Her tone was casual, but she hadn't yet let go of Gary's hand. 

Trevor reached into his suitcoat and pulled out a sheaf of papers, plopping them out on the bar in front of him before reaching back into the same pocket and producing a sleek silver pen. He twisted the instrument, holding it out to Kate once the ball point was revealed. 

"Right here, missy. All ready for your John Hancock. Or, Jane Hancock, in this case." 

Gary bristled at Trevor's patronizing tone, but Kate forestalled any response on his part by releasing his hand and reaching for the papers - not the pen. With a stern glance at Gary, she glanced through them briefly before catching Trevor's eye and nodding toward the most secluded table in the room, at the end of the bar below the raised pool tables. 

"We can sit over there while I look through these." She stepped away, missing the flash of irritation that crossed Trevor's features briefly. Gary didn't, though, and he didn't move as Trevor gathered up his drink, forcing the larger man to step around him as he got up to follow Kate to the table she had indicated. The cat appeared, crawling around Gary's feet and meowing piteously. Gary looked at it undecidedly for a moment, then the cat jumped up on the stool and pawed at the paper he'd unconsciously brought with him. Shocked, Gary stared at the feline, then shook his head. 

"No way. I don't care what's going on, I'm not leaving right now. You got that? I got more important things on my mind right now than you and your tabloid ways." 

He scooped the cat up and dropped it firmly on the floor. Tucking the paper into his back jeans pocket, he straddled the seat that Trevor had just vacated. Elbows on the bar, he surreptitiously watched the proceedings fifteen feet away at Kate's table. So far, things looked okay. Trevor appeared to be explaining the paperwork to her, Kate nodding now and then in response as he flipped through the pages. Crumb appeared in front of Gary, wiping imaginary spills off the bar. 

"Can I get you something, Hobson?" 

Reluctantly, Gary turned his attention to the older man. 

"Yeah, gimme a beer." He didn't wait for Crumb's response, half turning in his seat for a better view of Kate. Looking up, she caught his eye, and smiled. Gary smiled back, reassured. Maybe she had been right, maybe things were going to be fine. Trevor looked up at Kate, following her gaze over to Gary. The smile he sent was slick and Gary's unease returned full force as he glowered back at him. The guy had to have something up his sleeve, he *had* to. 

"Here ya go." Gary jumped as the bottle thumped on the bar in front of him, and he glanced at Crumb briefly. 

"Thanks." 

Turning back to his immediate concern, Gary tensed. His voice rising, Trevor seemed to be upset about something. Kate flinched as he grabbed the papers from her. She recovered quickly though, as he rapidly thumbed through them, opening them finally to one page and slapping them down on the table in front of her. Kate shook her head, obviously resisting whatever Trevor's wishes were concerning the paperwork between them. With a wary glance toward Gary, Howard lowered his voice and proceeded to find another page, pointing at it as he spoke. Nodding, Kate seemed satisfied, picking up the papers and slowly reading through them. 

Breathing a sigh of relief, Gary realized Crumb had seen the entire exchange. The old cop hadn't moved, standing there with both hands braced on the bar in front of him. Looking deliberately over toward Kate and Trevor, then back at Gary, Crumb leaned toward him. 

"Everything kosher, Hobson?" There was a world of meaning in his quiet words, and Gary was suddenly grateful for the man's instincts and his protective feelings toward Kate. Gary took a long look at Kate and Trevor, evidently debating another point in the papers, but Trevor was behaving himself now. He turned back to Crumb, not bothering to hide his worry. 

"Relatively." Gary glanced back at his fiancé, then catching Crumb's eye again, added, "For now." Crumb gave him a long look before nodding once and moving on down the bar toward Kate and Trevor. Gary breathed a sigh of relief. The old cop understood, at least somewhat. Kate didn't want Gary nearby, but she hadn't said anything about Crumb. Still, Gary would keep an eye things himself. He took a sip of his beer, shoving the cat away with one foot as it reappeared at his ankles. Marissa appeared next. 

Settling on a stool near him, she accepted a drink from the bartender, then turned to Gary. 

"Gary? Is everything all right?" 

Damn! What did they think, he needed a babysitter tonight? Trevor was the one they should be watching. But, they didn't know that, thanks to Kate's thin skin. Taking another drink of his beer, Gary started to answer Marissa, but his response died as the events at Kate's table suddenly caught his attention. 

Kate was pushing the papers back at Trevor, shaking her head. Gary couldn't hear what she was saying, but whatever it was, it wasn't what the man with her wanted to hear, that was certain. Trevor tensed, then, with a look at Gary, suddenly relaxed, smiling coolly at the other man before reaching with one hand for Kate's arm. It looked like he was just touching her affectionately, as a husband might, but Gary didn't miss the way Kate suddenly froze, her jaw clenching. Fury burned through him as he realized she was trying to pull her arm away from Trevor's caress, but couldn't. She winced suddenly, grabbing at Trevor's hand with her other hand, and Gary was on his way over to their table, Marissa's urgent call unheeded, ignoring Crumb, ignoring everything except the tableau in front of him. Trevor smiled that oily smile at Gary, and as he released Kate's arm she cradled it to her chest momentarily before looking up at Gary. She opened her mouth to speak, but Gary didn't give her a chance. 

He didn't give Trevor a chance either. Every eye in McGinty's was on them the second after he grabbed the larger man, yanking him half out of his seat, the chair tumbling away behind Trevor as he struggled to keep his balance. Gary's fist went back - only to find he couldn't follow through on the punch. Crumb's voice behind him was loud in the sudden silence, as Kate grabbed at the arm holding Trevor. 

"Scumbag ain't worth it, Hobson. Don't give him the satisfaction." 

"Gary! Please!" 

Gary strained against Crumb, but there was no give in the old man's grip. Trevor had found his feet, and stood there, his gaze mocking Gary. Kate tugged on his arm, again. Gary looked at her, surprised to see tears in her eyes. 

"Gary, please! Don't. He wants you to hit him, don't you see? He wants this to happen. Please!" 

Gary stared at her, then back at Trevor. Every instinct in him was screaming to deck the guy, and deck him good, but he knew Crumb wouldn't let him. Marissa pushed her way through the crowd as Chuck appeared at his side. Gary realized his friends were just looking out for him; he knew that Kate was probably right in her assessment, but he really wished they hadn't been watching him quite so closely. What he wouldn't give for one punch at the guy... Staring angrily into the other man's face, Gary slowly released his grip on Trevor's jacket. Crumb waited a moment before releasing Gary's arm, and Trevor made a great show of straightening out his jacket, brushing the lapel where Gary had gripped him. 

Kate released his other arm and stood next to him, rubbing the wrist Trevor had handled. Gary grabbed the papers and Trevor's pen up from the table and shoved them at the man. He pointed at the door. 

"Get out. Now," he growled at Trevor. "And don't come back. Ever. You come near her again, and I'll--" 

"Hobson." Crumb's voice cut across his threat. Gary shook off the old cop's interruption. Geez, he had to have seen what Trevor did to Kate, why wouldn't they all just butt out? 

Perfect jaw thrust forward belligerently, Trevor took the papers, his gaze coldly furious. 

"What about these? She has to sign them by tomorrow or we lose the sale." 

"Well, then, I guess you just lost it. You send them registered mail, we'll have a lawyer look them over and send them back to you." 

Trevor bristled, and his voice carried to every corner of the bar. 

"We? You don't have anything to say about any of this. You're not married to her and just because you're screwing my ex-wife doesn't--" 

Crumb grabbed Gary as he lunged for Trevor again, and now Chuck was between them too. 

"You'd better leave now." Short as he was, Chuck could be authoritative he wanted to. Trevor looked haughtily from the shorter man to Gary and then to Crumb. Pocketing his papers, he turned to Kate, who stared white-faced at the scene playing out in front of her. 

"I'll be in touch." He glared at Gary. "Next time let's try this without the pet gorilla, though, okay?" 

Kate didn't say anything, and with a last glance around the room, Trevor left. The door had closed behind him before Crumb released Gary. Shifting his shoulders to settle his shirt, he reached for Kate's arm. If that guy had hurt her permanently... he looked up, shocked, as she pulled it away from him. 

"Kate?" 

"I told you to let me handle this! I didn't need you to make a scene!" she hissed at him. 

"I, I , I was--what'd you expect me to do, sit here and let him hurt you again?" 

Gary's words fell into the still silent room, followed by Marissa's startled gasp, and Kate's eyes grew huge. Without saying a word, she turned and ran through the crowd of onlookers, the slam of the office door behind her seeming to signal to the crowd to get back to their own business. Hands clenched at his side, Gary closed his eyes briefly before following Kate, ignoring Chuck's incredulous stare and Marissa's hand reaching for his arm. If he could just ignore the rising hum of speculation from the patrons in his bar... As he reached for the office door, Kate came barreling through it, purse clutched in one hand. 

"Where, where are you going?" 

Kate glared at him. 

"Home." 

"Well, well, at least let me walk you." 

"No, thank you, I've had quite enough help from you for one night." 

Kate brushed past him before he could reply. Gary turned to follow her, to argue with her, but Crumb was quicker. Moving faster than Gary would have thought he could, the retired detective arrived at the front door at the same moment Kate did. 

"It's awfully dark out there. Give an old man some peace of mind and let me walk you home." Kate stared at him for a moment, then with a short nod she headed out the door in front of the retired detective. Catching Gary's eye as he followed her out, Crumb nodded once. 

Curiosity thick in the air about him, and Gary glared at the one or two patrons that he caught staring at him. Chuck appeared once more, but as he opened his mouth Gary turned on him. 

"Just stow it, Chuck. Just keep your mouth shut for once." Ignoring the incredulous hurt in his friend's face, Gary swung away and ineffectively shrugging - as if he could shrug the events of the last twenty minutes off that easily , he headed for the office door. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Gary's pacing was just settling in to a rhythm when Marissa's knock disrupted it. One lamp barely lit the fourteen steps it took him to get from the pinball machine to the treadmil and back again. Kate and Crumb were probably three blocks away by now, waiting for the light to change at LaSalle and Ontario. That light was always red, whether he was coming or going from Kate's. Gary knew it was Marissa at the door before he turned around, knew she was the one who would follow him up to the loft first. Chuck probably wasn't far behind, once he got over his huff about Gary telling him to shut up before he came upstairs. 

Shoulders heaving in one long sigh, Gary headed for the door. Marissa's form wavered in the mottled glass window as he approached, and he reflected that he really should get a new door for the loft - one without a see through window. Especially with Kate staying here...but, Kate wasn't staying here, anymore, was she? Gary pushed back the wave of misery that came with that realization, concentrating instead on Marissa, standing warily outside his door waiting to be invited in. More relationships he'd screwed up. 

"May I come in?" Marissa took refuge in formality, as she often did. 

"Yeah." 

Gary frowned at the door as she entered, then with a shrug left it open. Chuck would be along soon enough. Marissa settled on the sofa and Gary resumed his pacing. For the next few minutes, his rapid steps - to the treadmill, turn and back to the pinball machine, turn and repeat - were the only sound in the loft. Then finally, he went beyond the machine, to the window, staring out from the half-dark loft at the street lights beyond him. Leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets, he rested his head against the warm brick. Crumb should be about to Kate's apartment, if she walked as fast as she normally did. Which meant another couple of minutes waiting for the elevator to come down from the upper floors. 

"Gary?" 

"Yeah?" He didn't turn away from the window, didn't look at his friend. Okay, they were in the elevator, now, Kate probably looking for her keys. 

"Gary, she will forgive you. She loves you, and she'll be okay about it. You have to know that." Marissa spoke quietly, confidently. 

Gary pivoted to face Marissa, taking a few steps toward her. 

"'Y-y-y--you don't understand. She practically begged me not to tell anyone, and not only do I break my word to her, I go back on it in front of a whole bar full of people!" He waved sharply at the open door as he spoke, his voice echoing through the loft. 

Marissa shifted, leaning forward as she turned toward the sound of Gary's voice. 

"Strangers, Gary, they were strangers," she insisted. "Sure, it's tonight's sensation, but it will be tomorrow's old news, and in a week they won't even remember it. Besides, I think there were extenuating circumstances." 

"You're not a stranger. And neither is Chuck and neither is Crumb. And, what extenuating circumstances?" 

Marissa's face said "Duh!" better than anyone's. 

"Gary, Trevor was here. How long has it been since Kate told you about him?" 

Gary flopped into the chair beside the couch, running one hand through his hair as he tried to remember. Just how long had it been since that night on the bridge? Since that night - no, since that one night Kate first turned up at McGinty's, what was it, three, four months ago? - his life had suddenly gotten much fuller, much richer - and much more complicated, if tonight's events were any indication. 

"Two weeks, I guess. She told me the same night I proposed." Gary closed his eyes now, fighting the memory of the fear he'd seen in Kate's eyes that night, fear that Trevor had left in his wake. Though getting rarer, it still showed up now and then, and not just when they were intimate. Sometimes if Gary moved too fast, or got too rough in his play, the fear would be there in Kate's huge eyes, and his heart would break all over again for what had been done to his bride. Since Trevor's letter had arrived three days ago Gary hadn't been able to touch Kate without her jumping or flinching. Marissa's hand on his arm brought him back to the present. 

"So, you're still grieving over it and processing it. It takes a while, Gary, and when the man himself shows up...." Marissa's voice trailed off meaningfully, and she let go of his arm, wrapping her long fingers around her cane instead. "Gary, Kate loves you. She _will_ understand. She's just dealing with her own fears now too, and it makes it hard to think straight. I'm betting she hadn't seen Trevor in a while either." 

Gary shook his head. 

"No, she hadn't, not since the last time he--" He broke off, guiltily. 

Marissa's eyebrows went up, but before she could respond another voice broke in. 

"So it's true, then, what you said? About Trevor hurting Kate?" Chuck stood in the doorway, his dark shirt blending with the unlit stairwell behind him. Paper in one hand, the other in his pocket, he looked uncomfortably serious, waiting to be invited in as well. 

Gary waved him into the loft without getting up from his chair. 

"Mind if I shed some light on the subject?" Chuck asked. Gary shrugged and Chuck hit the light switch beside the door, illuminating the loft before he settled on the arm of the couch opposite from Gary. The paper he tossed landed on the coffee table between them. Gary slouched further down in his seat as he stared morosely back and forth from his friends to the tabloid. 

"Yeah, it's true. I've seen enough just when we've..." Gary stopped, blushing, then looked up at Chuck and Marissa, tired of trying to hide this sorrow from them. "You haven't seen her flinch when I touch her, or sometimes, in, in, anyway, I startle her, and she just shuts down. It's better now, than it was, or at least it was until Trevor's letter came. I thought I would be enough to help her get over it completely. But now, she doesn't want me--" 

"Gary, it's not like your relationship is over. You've disagreed before, haven't you?" Sensing his nod, Marissa continued, sitting back against the couch and shrugging. "It's part of every relationship. You fight, you disagree, you make up. It helps a relationship grow, be stronger. And, I think this is a relationship that's going to last, for both of you." 

Now Gary's eyebrows went up as he stared at his friend. 

"You, you really think that? That, that it will last?" He couldn't keep the hope out of his voice. 

Marissa nodded. 

"Gary, I'll be honest: When you first told me about you and Kate getting married, it seemed awful fast, awful sudden. Chuck was convinced you asked her to marry you just because you were sleeping together and you couldn't take the guilt." 

Still perched on the arm of the couch, Chuck had the grace to look abashed as Gary stared at him wide-eyed 

"You gotta admit, it all moved pretty darned fast, buddy." Chuck's blue eyes were serious as he met Gary's gaze. "I mean, you've been so paranoid about telling anyone about the paper, even your own parents found out by default. And then in waltzes Kate and next thing we know, not only are you telling her about the paper, but you're marrying her and making her part of it all." 

Gary's eyes narrowed. There was more here than Chuck or Marissa was saying. He sat up straight, some things finally making sense to him. 

"And you two, you two'd been part of it since the beginning and you thought, you thought I was replacing you." He wagged a finger back and forth at the two of them as he spoke. 

Chuck looked at Marissa, obviously deferring an answer to her whether she could see him or not. The lady in question shrugged and toyed with her cane for a moment before opening her mouth. 

"Well, Gary, you can't deny Kate is a lot closer to you right now than we are." 

"Kate's my wife. Well, she's gonna be, anyway. That's, that's, that's different. You're my friends, my best friends, and you've been in on the paper from the beginning. Kate's not interested in the paper, beyond it being what I do, and she never wanted to replace you, she's never tried. She likes you both." 

"Gary, she didn't have to try. It's the nature of your relationship that she would replace us, at least somewhat. Anyway, what it really means is that we just have to adjust to things being a bit different around here." Marissa smiled. "I could use some help when the testosterone gets thick sometimes, anyway." 

Neither of the men with her cracked a smile, but they all felt the atmosphere lighten. Marissa waited a moment, then took a deep breath. 

"Hobson?" They all turned towards the doorway. Crumb stood there, leaning on the door jamb. Gary jumped up. Crumb's hand went out in a calming gesture. 

"Just wanted to let you know, Kate's home, safe and sound. I checked out her apartment, no bogey men, and I made sure she locked the door behind me." Gary nodded miserably, not sure what he had hoped the detective would say. That Kate wanted him to come over? That she needed him? As if sensing his distress, the detective added, "She said she'd call you tomorrow, when she got home from school." At Gary's crestfallen expression, the detective smiled. "Don't worry, I put in a good word for youse. She'll be fine. Just give her a day to get over her mad. You'll see." 

With a slap to the door jamb and a nod to Gary, Crumb turned to go. 

"Crumb?" 

The detective stopped at the top of the stairs. 

"Thanks." Gary tried to say more than just the word, tried to say how much he appreciated Crumb not letting Kate go home alone tonight, not with Trevor out there somewhere, not with the bad feeling he'd had in his gut the last few days. Crumb nodded again. 

"You ain't the only one with a crystal ball, kid. His kind, you don't need one. I had him pegged as a louse when he walked in. Now, the exact nature of his lousiness, that took a minute. But the second I saw Kate with him, I knew. It was obvious." His rough face softened. "She'll be all right, Hobson. She's learned her lesson, and she'll get over him. At least she picked better her second time around." 

And with that backhanded compliment, the bartender went down the stairs. 

Gary shifted uncomfortably, staring at the empty doorway. Evenings with Kate were his routine now. What did he used to do before her? Gary turned back to his friends as Chuck stood and helped Marissa to her feet, saying something about them being needed as well downstairs,. 

"Guys..." Gary waited while they both turned to him. "Thanks." 

Marissa just nodded and made her way out the door. 

Chuck, being Chuck, had more to say than that. 

"Well, hey, Gary, Kate's your choice. And, I have to say, despite my original fears, she's a good choice. Ya done good buddy, and it's gonna be okay. You'll see." 

Gary nodded, and Chuck pulled the door closed behind him. Running his hands through his hair, Gary turned about him. His friends were probably right, but it didn't help his misery tonight. He wanted to be with Kate, to hold her against the fear that he knew Trevor brought out in her, and he wanted to apologize for being the fool that he'd been shooting off his mouth tonight. But, he wasn't going to apologize for going after Trevor. Not after what that creep had done, and looking right at Gary...he shivered, suddenly, remembering the cold challenge in those blue eyes as Trevor reached for Kate's arm. Kate had been right, Trevor had been _trying_ to provoke Gary into going after him. Heart pounding suddenly, Gary found himself more worried than ever about just what the man was doing, reappearing in Kate's life like this, at this time. 

The cat meowed at his feet, and he glared at it. 

"You wouldn't have any help for me now, would you? Something like a little article in that paper that comes with you, anything to tell me what the son of a bitch is really up to?" The cat just blinked at him before settling down on the couch and lifting a paw to clean. 

Gary shook his head, looking about him for the paper. Well, it wouldn't hurt to look through today's paper once more, just in case. 

Continued in part 3/3   


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